by Alison Marshall

One of the greatest challenges I’ve faced in L&D is designing and developing learning that’s sustainable after the first cohort has completed the programme.  After the initial wave of attendees, when you have a much smaller intake and even individuals, delivery can become resource/cost prohibitive and this can result in delays while you wait for a big enough group.  This means that learners don’t get access to the development opportunities that they need, when they need it.  On top of this, today’s learner is an ‘on-demand’ consumer who wants to learn where, when and how it suits them.

Too many times people within the ranks of organisations feel powerless because they aren’t in a traditional leadership position and don’t have the power that comes along with a title.  They feel their ideas will be ignored or worse yet, don’t even offer up suggestions because, well, why should they bother?  They’re just a… (fill in the blank here).

Picture a small mud hut village in India with no electricity or clean running water. Now imagine a group of mainly uneducated women, both old and young, who are at the bottom of society’s pecking order. These women, and many just like them in Bangladesh, Africa, Mexico and Peru, know exactly what they need in order to build a healthy, sustainable community for their children and grandchildren — but they don’t know how to make their voices heard, or even if their words are worth listening to.